Meet Nathan the swimming cat from Townsville diving into viral fame

A Townsville cat is bucking stereotypes with its love of swimming, racking up over half a million fans on Instagram in the process. The only catch is her owners have to keep an eye out for crocs.

A TOWNSVILLE cat is bucking stereotypes with its love of swimming and racking up over half a million fans on Instagram in the process.

Nathan, who is a female feline despite her name, found her forever home with Douglas residents Rian Crandon and Melissa Pietrobuono in 2017 after being dumped in a box by the highway and rescued by the RSPCA.

Nathan the swimming cat, beloved pet and Instagram star.

The outdoor-loving couple began taking the indoor cat out for walks with them when Nathan was about 12 months old, after she’d had all her injections.

“The intention wasn’t for her to go on a swim. We just wanted her to learn to go out safely on a lead, but it turns out she wanted to swim instead,” Melissa said.

Nathan has also attracted much attention online, with more than 600,000 Instagram following her account nathan_thebeachcat.

Nathan the swimming cat enjoying a dip in the ocean.

The couple has recently adopted another RSPCA rescue cat, Winnie, who’s also taken to swimming.

“I know it’s not typical for cats to want to swim, but I think it all comes down to the relationship and trust we have built with them,” Melissa said.

“They know we’re their safety, and when we’re home, they just follow us around everywhere.”

Melissa said since they relocated from Bundaberg to Townsville earlier this year, their two felines have taken a liking to explore Toomulla Beach on their leads.

“We’re still looking around for safe places for them to swim because we know we’ve got to be cautious of crocs,” she said.

Nathan with her owners Rian Crandon and Melissa Pietrobuono.

“They’re out babies, so if anything happened to them, we’d be very upset.”

Despite sharing a love for swimming, Melissa said her cat’s personalities couldn’t be more different.

“Nathan is very prim and proper. She’s incredibly smart,” she said.

“You only have to tell her once, and then she’s done.

“Winnie, on the other hand, she’s pretty goofy. She’s like the naughty child. She likes to push your buttons and see how far she can go before she gets in trouble.”

Originally published as Meet Nathan the swimming cat from Townsville diving into viral fame